AROUND THE HORN
Mets-Tigers: Pete Alonso launched a tying homer leading off the ninth inning, Tyrone Taylor lined a game-winning single and the New York Mets — after going 13 innings without a hit — rallied past the Detroit Tigers 2-1 for their first victory of the season Thursday and a doubleheader split. Harrison Bader’s bloop single to start the eighth was New York’s first hit in the second game. But the Mets (1-5) finally broke through in the ninth to give Carlos Mendoza his first win as a major league manager. They avoided opening 0-6 for the first time since their second season in 1963. New York blew a threerun lead in the opener and lost 6-3 in 11 innings after Colt Keith hit a tiebreaking double. Gio Urshela added a two-run single. Javier Baez had an early RBI single in the second game for the Tigers (5-1), who were the last unbeaten team in the majors.
Guardians: Tanner Bibee and the Cleveland bullpen had 15 strikeouts to put the clamps on Minnesota’s bats, Steven Kwan had three hits and the Guardians spoiled the Twins’ home opener with a 4-2 victory. Bibee (1-0) matched his career high with nine strikeouts, allowing one run over 5
⅓ innings. Four relievers followed, with Emmanuel Clase working a perfect ninth for his third save.
Cardinals: Nolan Gorman hit a go-ahead two-run double in the seventh inning and the St. Louis Cardinals won their home opener, 8-5 over the winless Miami Marlins, who are off to the worst start in the 33-year history of the franchise. Jake Burger hit a pair of homers for Miami (0-8), which is off to the worst start in the majors since Atlanta and Minnesota each lost their first nine games in 2016. The Marlins are the only winless team in baseball after the New York Mets got their first win Thursday, beating Detroit.
Dodgers: Shohei Ohtani knew he hadn’t homered in a while and felt relief when he sent a ball soaring into Dodger Stadium’s right-field pavilion. “Honestly, very relieved that I was able to hit my first homer,” Ohtani said through a translator after his seventh-inning drive helped the Dodgers to a 5-4 win over the rival Giants on Wednesday night. “It’s been a while and honestly my swing hasn’t been great. So overall very relieved.” Playing his ninth game for his new team, Ohtani pulled a 93.2 mph sinker from lefthander Taylor Rogers on the upper, outer portion of the strike zone. The ball left his bat at 105.6 mph and landed 430 feet from the plate, where it was picked up by a fan. The two-time AL MVP left the Angels after last season as a free agent and agreed to a record 10-year, $700 million contract with the Dodgers.
Marlins: RHP Eury Pérez will undergo Tommy John surgery and miss the 2024 season, the team announced Thursday. Pérez had previously been diagnosed with mild inflammation after experiencing discomfort in his right elbow late in the spring. He met with Dr. Keith Meister, according to Marlins president of baseball operations Peter Bendix, and surgery was not recommended then. Pérez made four spring training appearances, but opened the season on the injured list. As of Tuesday, the team said he had been playing catch with the anticipation of progressing to a bullpen session soon.